Fall and football go together! Your juniors will enjoy the fun and food of a football get-together, even if some of them don’t understand the game. The following activities will give them a reason to cheer!
Pick a name
Each junior chooses a football player alias; e.g., Touchdown Tom, Quick-move Aaron, or Catch ‘em Carrie. Write the assumed names on large name tags and place on kids’ shirt backs. Refer to students by their aliases during the party.
Fill the Socks
Materials needed: Men’s athletic socks (one sock for each team); an assortment of small objects to tightly fit into each sock. (Use the same size and number of objects for each sock.)
Procedure: On the word “go,” each team packs the objects into its sock as securely as possible. Then one member of each team carries the full sock to a designated place in the room, without spilling or dropping the contents. If the sock or contents drop, the team must start over. The first team to succeed is the winner.
Blow Football
Tape two goal areas (rectangles) onto a tabletop about twelve inches apart. Give drinking straws to each of four players on either side of the table. Place a table tennis ball in the center. On the word “go” the eight players start blowing. A player scores for his team by blowing the ball into his team’s designated goal area.
Sports Page Jigsaw
Glue two sports pages (one for each team) onto poster board and cut into large irregular shapes to make puzzles. Each puzzle should have the same number of pieces and at least one piece for every player on the team. The first team to correctly assemble its puzzle is the winner.
Dry Ground
Materials needed: 12 or more sheets of newspaper; taped music.
Procedure: Spread sheets of newspaper at random on the floor, leaving enough space so that juniors can move around them. Ask students to pretend that they are football payers carrying a football. Tell them it is important that they keep their feet dry to avoid slipping. When the music plays, the players move around the newspapers but do not step on them until the music stops. Then the papers are designated as DRY GROUND; the players crowd onto them to keep their feet dry. If a player does not have both feet on the newspaper, he is out. Remove a sheet of paper after each round until one sheet is left. The players remaining on the sheet of dry ground are the winners.
